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CONSUMER REPORTS GIVES THE TESLA MODEL-S ALL-ELECTRIC SEDAN A SCORE OF 99 POINTS OUT OF 100 BEATING ALL THE MAJORS

Consumer Reports, self-promoted as the largest independent consumer-testing organization in the world, recently subjected Tesla's all-electric vehicle to its standard gamut of automotive tests. The results were nothing short of extraordinary, as the model came just one point short of acing the 50-test evaluation regimen. Its final score of 99 out of 100 meant the Model S "performed better than any other car we've ever tested," said Jake Fisher, director of auto testing at the publication (Lexus owners will correctly argue that the 2007 Lexus LS 460L also earned a score of 99 in a Consumer Reports comparison years ago).

 

When the Consumer Reports results were released with the expected publicity and hype, many looked at the near-perfect score and extrapolated that the car was the best car ever made. The Tesla Model S is an extraordinary clean-sheet effort from a small American automaker, but I'd stop several yards short of considering it — or any automobile, for that matter — the world's best car.

Tesla: Consumer Reports' best car ever tested

Without question, Tesla's combustion-free five-door is innovative and awe-inspiring. I understand how the team at Consumer Reports became enamored with its effortless acceleration; cavernous, whisper-quiet interior; and glass panel technology. In fact, in my own first drive review published last fall, I called an early production model the "world's first practical, no-compromise, noncombustion automobile." Yes, it is pioneering.

 

Yet before anyone slaps a blue ribbon and a hearty best accolade on its sleek windshield, it is time for a reality check — the Model S is hardly one point away from flawless.

Even after overlooking all the Model S' objective blemishes (the team over at CR mentioned its lack of certain high-end features, stereo issues and parasitic battery energy losses when parked), electric vehicles lack a national infrastructure of charging points, accessible cross-country range and remain cost prohibitive for most consumers. These are major hurdles, preventing tens of millions from even considering vehicles like the Model S. Don't feel sorry for just the electric crowd, either. The same hindrances are lodged at other alternative-energy vehicles, such as those powered by hydrogen and natural gas.

Tesla Model S Battery Pack (Click Image To Enlarge)

Tesla Model S battery cells looks like regular AA batteries (Click Image To Enlarge)

Tesla Model S electric batteries consist of individual modules packing 787 battery cells (Click Image To Enlarge)

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Tesla Model S electric motor (Click Image To Enlarge)

Tesla's high-scoring 85 kwh Model S, arguably at the top of its pure-electric segment, is limited to a range of about 265 miles. Even though it may be plugged into any common 110-volt electrical outlet for a slow charge, high-speed electric vehicle charging stations have only sprung up in major population centers or along busy highway corridors, meaning a lack of foresight before heading down a less-traveled road may initiate a tow truck encounter.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, there are more than 5,800 electric charging stations in the United States, but just two public charging stations in North Dakota, and zero in Wyoming (Tesla plans to have a nationwide network of its so-called Supercharger stations within a couple of years). I don't need to remind anyone that gasoline for combustion vehicles is as readily available as pasteurized milk, and still less expensive.

And to revisit the cost, according to a recent study by TrueCar, the average transaction price for a new passenger car was $30,812 in January of this year. The flagship Tesla model tested by Consumer Reports wore an $89,650 window sticker, nearly three times the national average.

Test drive: DC to Boston in a Tesla Model S

A true best car wouldn't just need a bladder-busting range, readily available fuel or a price that would make it attainable by all. It would need to be every bit as adept in a Syracuse winter as it would be comfortable in a Phoenix summer. It would have to be safe in crash testing, smooth on the highway, maneuverable around town and compact enough to fit into a crowded city garage. Some would even ask for off-road and towing capabilities.

You see where I am going?

No car currently manufactured deserves the coveted best car trophy, and that includes Consumer Reports' 99-point Tesla Model S. Personal transportation needs are uniquely individual, based on occupation, regional location, household size, income and, of course, taste. Giving a vehicle a near-perfect score is acceptable — and there will undoubtedly be others just as impressive — but assuming that one vehicle trumps others and satisfies all equally is misguided and presumptuous.

To those who consider the Model S the world's best car, I throw out this question: What's the world's best shoe?

COMMENTARY:  It does not surprise me that Tesla Motors got 99 points out of a possible 100 point rating fron Consumer Reports for the Model S.  Last year the Tesla Model S won Motor Trends' Car of the Year for 2013.   It's an incredible car.  Yes, it's expensive, but you get what you pay for.

Courtesy of an article dated May 15, 2013 appearing in CNN Opinion

BULLETPROOF INNOVATION: KIBBUTZ-OWNED PLASAN SASA'S IKEA-STYLE, FLAT-PACK ARMOR KITS

 

WITH ITS REVOLUTIONARY MANUFACTURING PROCESS, THE KIBBUTZ-OWNED COMPANY NOT ONLY SECURES VEHICLES FOR THE U.S. MILITARY AND NOW PRIVATE CLIENTS, IT PROTECTS ITS COLLECTIVIST WAY OF LIFE, TOO.

When Specialist Thomas Wilson confronted Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld about the lack of armor to protect U.S. troops against roadside bombs in Iraq in 2004, neither man could have foreseen that the solution would come from Sasa, a kibbutz in Israel’s upper Galilee that remains loyal to its collectivist foundations.

For a brief period in the summer of 2000, Israel and the Palestinians appeared on the verge of peace. And although the Camp David talks ultimately failed, the prospect of a reduced Israel Defense Forces budget swayed Plasan Sasa, the IDF’s primary armor supplier, to become export-oriented.

Sasa, kibbutz, with Plasan in the foreground (Click Image To Enlarge)

Fast-forward to 2011 and Plasan sat atop Dun & Bradstreet’s annual list of largest kibbutz enterprises with around $850 million (3.173 billion ILS) in sales, thanks to its supply of vehicle protection kits to Navistar and Oshkosh, manufacturers of the U.S. military’s MRAP and M-ATV Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles.

A vehicle outfitted with Plasan's armor (Click Image To Enlarge)

There is nothing inherently innovative about the manufacturing of armor, but what differentiated Plasan from its competitors was its ability to do so at a rate of about one thousand vehicles per month. It did this by providing the products as kits--what Plasan Chief Designer Nir Kahn calls “the Ikea wardrobe of flatpack vehicles”--and allowing its partners to assemble them on their own production lines.

Plasan Chief Designer Nir Kahn works on sketches (Click Image To Enlarge)

Israeli-born Kahn, whose accent still betrays his northern England upbringing despite his return as a fresh university graduate 15 years ago, explains that Plasan’s customers care about three things: cost, weight, and the threat the armor is supposed to stop. He says the company’s advantage lies in its “proactive approach” of designing both the vehicle for the armor and the armor for the vehicle, and in the close cooperation between the designers, engineers, and testers, who all sit “quite literally under one roof.”

Lockheed Martin AVA with Plasan-made armor (Click Image To Enlarge)

Kahn says. 

“We do hundreds, if not thousands, of rounds of projectile testing every single day.  There’s the neighbor in Toy Story who’s always taking toys and blowing them up. So in our vehicle design engineering department we make the toys and pass them over to the guys who blow them up.”

The firm’s other advantage is the effort it puts into vehicle comfort and appearance, according to Kahn.   He says.

“Plasan has led the industry in designing vehicles with a more progressive look. They are still military vehicles--they can’t be flower-power Volkswagens--but they project an image of humanity and progressiveness, which helps the soldier to be sure that when he rolls into that village he’s going to find friends rather than enemies.” 

Future Future Tactical Truck System Utility vehicle Demonstrator from International, outfitted with Plasan armor (Click Image To Enlarge) 

Plasan sold more than 20,000 vehicle kits in the decade following 9/11, primarily to the U.S., but also to a small number of other countries including the United Kingdom. Now, given the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 and its imminent departure from Afghanistan, alongside the recent sequestration of the Pentagon budget, it makes sense that Plasan has shifted its focus to the civilian market.

Kahn says. 

“Perhaps because we’re a kibbutz company, we wanted our business to be based on things other than war.”  

Kahn clarifies that Plasan’s job has always been to protect people rather than to profit from conflict. 

Given that it had the necessary composite materials, manufacturing facilities, and the ability to conduct detailed finite element analysis, it wasn’t such a leap for Plasan to make regular vehicles lighter, too. Today, the company is among the leading tier-one suppliers of carbon fiber parts to the automotive industry, supplying parts for the hoods and roofs of the new Corvette Stingray, SRT Viper, and other vehicles through its Detroit subsidiary Plasan Carbon Composites. Using its proprietary technology, Plasan produces parts for each sports car in 17 minutes instead of the industry standard 90-120 minutes. Its next goal is to bring this technology into the mainstream.

A Plasan-armored, mine-resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle (Click Image To Enlarge)

Kahn says.  

“Cars have been made out of pressed steel for the best part of 100 years, and up until now most efforts to change that have been about material substitution.  We’re trying to change the conversation, to design the vehicle from composite materials for a high volume manufacturer. A high volume manufacturer in the military industry is one thousand a month, a high volume manufacturer in the motor industry is one thousand a day. But the principles are the same.A Plasan-armored, mine-resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle (Click Image To Enlarge)

Like most of his colleagues, Kahn does not live in Sasa. However, he acknowledges that the kibbutz’s ownership of Plasan helps instill a general feeling that the company belongs to its employees.

Dani Ziv, Plasan CEO and a Sasa resident since his days in the IDF’s Nahal Infantry brigade, says the company’s strength lies in its combining of commonplace industry values like competition with kibbutz values like democracy that don’t exist in the industry.

 Ziv says. 

“Democracy creates a more open dialogue within the organizational hierarchy. Every manger’s door is open, and there is no distance between the VP and the people on the bottom floor.  What differentiates Plasan from other companies in our market is that our people receive more responsibility, and if someone wants to take initiative he has more freedom to do so.”

Plasan Sand Cat armored vehicle based on a shortened Ford F350 platform (Click Image To Enlarge)

The kibbutz ideology has made its mark on Plasan, but the company’s success has not altered Sasa’s commitment to the traditional collective model maintained by less than one-quarter of Israel’s 281 kibbutzim. If anything, says Sasa Treasurer and former Plasan employee Raul Cohen, the almost-overnight impact of the first MRAP contract in 2007 gave it the freedom to decide, rather than have the banks force it into privatization like other kibbutzim.

For a community with 220 members and a population of around 400 (residents are typically offered membership in their late 20s or early 30s) that previously subsisted off agricultural proceeds, it wasn’t easy dealing with sudden riches. It took 18 months for a formula to be devised, under which Plasan takes a certain percentage for investments, while the kibbutz spends its dividends on housing infrastructure, pensions, individual bonuses worth up to a few hundred thousand shekels (about $100,000) per member, and on the local elementary and high school.

As the primary purveyor of education to an area encompassing Druze, Circassian, and Arab villages and a number of other kibbutzim, Sasa takes its responsibilities seriously. Cohen, who arrived at the kibbutz from a poor city neighborhood as a 13-year-old in 1960, says that Sasa foots the multi-million-shekel education bill and sees the role of operating its schools as no less important than that of operating Plasan.

The Office of Naval Research Combat Tactical Vehicle (Technology Demonstrator) outfitted with armor designed and manufactured by Plasan (Click Image To Enlarge)

Cohen calls the decision to provide pensions--previously almost non-existent--a “personal and collective” promise. He says:

“Any member who grows up here today lives safe in the knowledge that there will be enough money to take care of them if we remain a collective kibbutz, and even if we don’t remain collective the pension is substantial enough to ensure the member ages respectably.”

COMMENTARY:   I love the benefits that Plasan Sasa kibbutz provides its 200 members.  Even if Plasan goes out of business, a guaranteed trust fund has been set aside that will be pay pension benefits to the members. GM, Chrysler, Boeing and the rest of the U.S. automotive and airline industries should learn from this.   

I think that Plasan has definitely delivered on its corporate vision and mission: 

• Global leadership in armor, focused on the wheeled  and tracked vehicles market
• A growing and profitable international company
• Excellence in concept, armor and survivability solutions based on cutting edge technologies

Plasan has also established the following core corporate values:

• EXCELLENCE - we aim for excellence at all levels of management and performance
• LEADERSHIP- we promote a “culture of leadership” at all managerial levels
• INNOVATION- we encourage initiative, precedent setting and creativity to attain market dominance
• TRANSPARENCY & TEAMWORK- we strive to create added value for the organization by adopting an advanced managerial culture.

Checkout Plasan Sasa's YouTube videos about its armor composite products.

 

 

Courtesy of an article dated March 26, 2013 appearing in Fast Company 

HITACHI UNVEILS THE 'ROPITS' SINGLE-PASSENGER AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH GPS FOR URBAN DWELLERS

Hitachi's Ropits single passenger robot car (Click Image To Enlarge)

ROPITS (Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System) is a single-passenger autonomous vehicle meant to travel on sidewalks. ROPITS is equipped with GPS, gyro sensor and laser sensors.  It can pick-up and drop off a passenger autonomously, while the vehicle can be controlled by a joystick controller in the cockpit.

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Hitachi has unveiled its Ropits single passenger robot car, which looks like a Fisher Price Cozy Coupe for adults and does the driving all on its own. The name and style prompt one to think of a science fiction contraption, but it’s the vehicle’s autonomic functionality that truly brings the idea of “futuristic” to the forefront.

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Ropits stands for Robot for Personal Intelligent Transport System, and was designed to aid those who find walking difficult. The idea is that Ropits vehicles could be outfitted in a city, for example, and hailed via a computer or kiosk of some sort positioned in various places around town. The robotic car will retrieve the passenger and whisk him or her away to their destination.

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It has GPS for easy navigation and laser distance sensors to determine obstacles and a gyro sensor for those uneven roads. It is also small enough that it can maneuver its way through pedestrian spaces without the walking “civilians” getting mad or hurt.

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The passenger has to indicate on the touch-screen map their desired destination and Ropits will do the rest. The system is also designed that anyone who needs to use the robot car can hail a Ropits from computer-networked stops around the city. If you’re worried about getting dizzy as it zigzags its way around the city, it has “active suspension” which controls each wheel individually to keep the passenger comfortably upright.

COMMENTARY:   I have a friend who could use  ROPITS vehicle right now.  He is disabled, so he cannot drive, and can barely walk to a bus stop or BART station, which means he has to pay for expensive taxi's to get around.  ROPITS would meet his needs perfectly.  When is this vehicle coming to the U.S.?

Courtesy of an article dated March 14, 2013 appearing in Robotic Trends

THE MASSIVE NEW YORK MTA EASTSIDE ACCESS PROJECT, AN $8.24 BILLION UNDERGROUND SUBWAY FROM MANHATTAN TO QUEENS

View of a series of underground tunnels under construction below New York City for the new Long Island Railroad to Queens, NY MTA Eastside Access Project (Click Image To Enlarge)

A LITTLE REMINDER OF WHAT’S GOING ON UNDERNEATH THAT GRAY’S PAPAYA.

It’s easy to take the subway for granted. Just like other subterranean marvels of engineering, it’s a system that’s deliberately hidden from view--you descend into a station, plunge into darkness, and arrive at your destination. In fact, you might forget you’re actually underground the whole time. But you are, and these new photos from the MTA serve as a nice reminder of how much work it takes to put you there.

New tunnels will be constructed from the LIRR Mainline tracks in Queens, under Amtrak's Sunnyside Yard and LIRR's Existing Rail Yard, connecting to the existing 63rd Street Tunnel just beyond Northern Blvd. In Manhattan, new tunnels will be bored from the existing bellmouth structure at Second Avenue and 63rd Street, west and then south, under Park Avenue and Metro-North Railroad's four-track right of way. (Click Image To Enlarge)

The pictures show the current progress of the MTA’s East Side Access project, one which doesn’t actually involve a subway but rather will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal for the first time. It’s currently expected to open in 2019. It involves a lot of digging.

The MTA Eastside Access Project uses a variety of heavy-duty machines, including massive 200-ton boring machines that will be left in place after construction is completed (Click Image To Enlarge)

Workers busy working on the MTA Eastside Access Project underground tunnel construction (Click Image To Enlarge)

Undergrund subway escalator leading to the boarding platform for the new Long Island Rail Road line running from Grand Central Terminal to Queens, N.Y. (Click Image To Enlarge)

View of a still unfinished undergrund subway tube boredd through solid rock for the new Long Island Rail Road line running from Grand Central Terminal to Queens, N.Y.

Thankfully, we’re not just sending people down there with shovels. These types of tunnels are excavated using a variety of heavy-duty machines, including massive 200-ton drills that are so big, and so unwieldy, that in some cases it’s actually far less expensive to just leave them down there after they’re done working--which is exactly what they did with one such machine involved in the East Side Access project last year.

Underground tennel workers removing rock from new bored subway tunnels for the MTA Eastside Access Project running from Grand Central Station to Queens N.Y. (Click Image To Enlarge)

Slated for completion in 2019, it will eventually connect the Long Island Rail Road lines to Grand Central Terminal (Click Image To Enlarge) 

Incredible view of a huge underground chamber bored from solid rock under the streets of New York for the new MTA Eastside Access Project (Click Image To Enlarge)

The photos serve as a nice reminder that when you’re taking the subway or traveling out of Grand Central, you really are underground (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:   Now that's what I call a massive underground project.  It's quite impressive to see the massive size of the underground tunnels and chambers bored using humongous boring machines and heavy drilling equipment.  Can hardly wait to see the new Long Island Railroad extension from Grand Central Terminal to Queens, N.Y. when it is finally completed in 2019.  

The MTA Capital Program provides the critical infrastructure investments that keep New York's transit system moving. In this video, you'll learn about the Capital Program's three major projects to extend the network for the first time in two generations: the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and the 7 Subway Extension.

 

East Side Access Facts

• $8.24 Billion Project
• New 8 Track LIRR Terminal at Grand Central Terminal
• 22,000 square feet of new retail space
• 46 escalators and 13 elevators
• Revenue service to begin August 2019

When completed, MTA's East Side Access project will bring Long Island Rail Road trains into Grand Central Terminal. Here's a one-minute explanation of the project.

What is the MTA EastSide Access Project (Click To View A Video)

Courtesy of an article dated March 1, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design

TESLA MOTOR'S NEW MODEL X ELECTRIC SUV SEATS 7, HAS EVERY FEATURE, AND A PRICE THAT TOPS OUT AT $100,000

AS TESLA SEARCHES FOR ITS MAINSTREAM IDENTITY, WE STILL DON’T SEE WHAT THERE IS TO GET SO EXCITED ABOUT.

As of late, the automotive press has nothing but good things to say about the Tesla Model X. Shown for the first time in the flesh at the Detroit Auto Show, it’s already a hit, with $40 million in pre-orders thus far (though to put that figure into perspective, Tesla posted a $200 million loss last quarter).

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We’re trying so hard to get the Model X, to rally behind the electric car that’s challenged the stubborn suits in Detroit, to fist pump a world that’s less reliant on fossil fuels. But all we see is an uninspired yuppie-mobile (do they still make yuppies?), a pornographic attempt at erotica. The DDD silicone bust line is the 17-inch touch-screen control panel. The “falcon-wing” doors are a pair of legs that stretch behind a neck. “Why is this necessary?” you ask. “Why not?” Tesla answers quickly, hoping you’ll be so smitten by the high beams that you won’t look too closely at the backend, which is the cross between a Prius and a Pontiac Aztek.

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The gull-wing doors are of particular note. On a spec sheet, you’ll hear how easily they accommodate rear seating for five. But in practice, you have to wonder, is it really worth having gull-wing doors just to accommodate two extra people crammed into the equivalent of jumpseats? Would a family of seven really look to this car as their comfortable familymobile?

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Looking back at car history, the gull-wing door--for however extravagant it looked--was actually a practical solution to a common problem. Sports cars rode close to the ground, so opening a door often meant a jewel of a car would scrape against uneven pavement. But the Model X is an SUV (or crossover, if you prefer that invented word). It already has more than ample ground clearance, and from what we understand, the Model X doesn’t actually fly, so gull-wing doors are inherently ridiculous.

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Then why are the doors even there? Well the Model X is a generic-looking car. Not a single statement within the design is confident enough to say “I’m a Tesla, dammit.” Instead, designers attached these doors to do the shouting instead. Maybe that cheat would be fine if gull-wing doors weren’t such an expensive upgrade in a vehicle, and if their maintenance weren’t legendarily finicky. Instead, every Model X driver is really a donor subsidizing the curbside marketing budget of Tesla’s only, sadly extravagant brand identifier, just so fellow shoppers know that their particular generic SUV is actually really fast, fairly green, and costs a whole lot of money.

 

Honestly, we shouldn’t care this much, and we wouldn’t, were Tesla just another premium car brand that didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. But someone needs to come around and make an electric car that’s aimed for the masses yet embodies everything great about “cars” rather than “electricity.” Chevy didn’t get there with the Volt. Tesla once looked like they may be close, at least for the premium market, but their results thus far have been wholly uninspiring.

COMMENTARY:   In spite of criticism over Tesla Model X's design, it can easily transport 7 passengers, so it is definitely competing in the high-end SUV market.  When the Model X was first unveiled in February 2012, price range estimates were somewhere between $80,000 and $100,000 depending on options.  For an SUV, the Model X is relatively expensive, but Tesla claims it already has $40 million in pre-orders.  Assuming that the average price per pre-order is $90,000, then this equates to about 445 Model X's since February 2012.  That's not an impressive number when compared to the Model S, which had over 3,000 pre-orders.  

Here's the skinny on the Model X.

The Soul of Every Tesla

Model X is a family vehicle with performance roots. The Tesla Vehicle Platform enables Model X to perform in ways never expected from a car of its size. With a center of gravity lower than any other SUV, you’ll notice nimble reflexes at every turn. The electric powertrain delivers instant torque for confident lane changes, even when loaded with seven adults and all their gear. 

Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive

Model X is offered with optional Dual Motor All-Wheel Drive. The second motor enables more than all-weather, all-road capabilities: it increases torque by 50%. When outfitted with AWD, Model X Performance accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, outperforming the fastest SUVs and many sports cars.

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If interested in placing a pre-order on a new Tesla Model X, you will need to make a deposit of $5,000.  You can place your pre-order by clicking HERE.

Courtesy of an article dated January 21, 2013 appearing in Fast Company Design and Tesla Motors

HOW DESIGNER VINCENT CHAN ADOPTED THE SEGWAY DESIGN INTO THE CITI.TRANSPORTER, A TWO-WHEELED ELECTRIC VEHICLE

The Citi.Transmitter is an adorable single seat modular transportation device, designed to solve our urban traffic problems.

When was the last time you saw a two-wheeled electric car on the road? There aren’t many out there yet, but the number could slowly increase as vehicles like Lit Motors C-1 (a mutant half car, half motorcycle set to be released in 2014) and GM’s autonomous EN-V start to roll out.

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Vincent Chan, a designer at Body Glove, has his own idea for a single-seater, two-wheeled EV: the Citi.Transmitter, a modular EV with a master unit--containing the driver, battery, and motor--that can be attached to any number of slave units. According to Inhabitat, the reference design for the vehicle is GM and Segway’s Project P.U.M.A, a two-wheeler prototype that has a range of 25 to 35 miles and a top speed of 25 to 35 mph. The Citi.Transmitter is purely for urban driving, in other words.

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Chan imagines all sorts of applications for the vehicle: adding on short slave unit containers for smaller loads, large containers for heavier loads, tacking on an extra compartment to carry more people, and even offroading (the vehicle can supposedly travel through gravel, snow, rocks, mud, and other terrain).

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There are no plans for release--this was a student project that Chan completed in 2010 at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. But if the designer ever did decide to bring this to production, its small size would probably ensure that it doesn’t cost as much as traditional EVs.

COMMENTARY:   With the price of gas destined to go higher and limited charging capacity of all-electric vehicles, the Citi.Transmitter is a great concept for urban transportation and movement of goods.  The Citi.Transmitter is solely a non-working prototype, but I like the idea of a 100% green all-electric vehicle, and hope that somebody with some balls and a lot of cash picks up the idea and funds the first working prototypes to deterine if the vehicle is feasible.   

Courtey of an article dated January 9, 2012 appearing in Fast Company Design 

 

TESLA MOTORS MODEL S SEDAN IS NAMED MOTOR TREND'S '2013 CAR OF THE YEAR' AND 'AUTOMOBILE OF THE YEAR' BY AUTOMOBILE

Tesla’s Model S has been named 2013 Car of the Year by Motor Trend and 2013 Automobile of the Year byAutomobile, striking a strategic blow for electric vehicles.

Automobile writer David Zenlea said:

“We weren’t expecting much from the Tesla other than some interesting dinner conversation as we considered “real” candidates like the Subaru BRZ and the Porsche Boxster. In fact, the Tesla blew them, and us, away.”

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Motor Trend Editor-at-Large Angus MacKenzie, meanwhile, said,

“At its core, the Tesla Model S is simply a damned good car you happen to plug in to refuel.”

In its headline, the magazine called the Model S:

“Proof Positive that America Can Still Make (Great) Things.”

Tesla's Model S receives the Motor Trend Car of the Year Award (Click Image To Enlarge)

Both publications are owned by Source Interlink Media, but say they made the decision independently of one another. When a Facebook commenter at Automobile‘s page questioned the timing and sameness of the respective magazines’ “…of the Year” award choices, anAutomobile staffer responded thus:

“I can’t say much about the magazines that aren’t owned by Source Interlink Companies, but we found out about Motor Trend Magazine’s choice, maybe, minutes before you guys did–no consultation, two completely different tests. I wouldn’t necessarily call it collusion–it’s just a really, really good car.”

COMMENTARY:   In the evening at an event in New York City Monday, November 12, 2012, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that his company's Model S sedan has been named Motor Trend's Car of the Year. The all-electric sedan, which I reviewed for Slate earlier this year, was a unanimous choice, beating out the Porsche 911, the new Ford Fusion, and the Honda Accord, among others, said Motor Trend Editor in Chief Ed Loh. This is the first time in the award's 64-year history that it has gone to a car without an internal combustion engine. Loh said the award was based on the car's overall excellence, not simply the fact that it's electric. He pointed out that it's the fastest American-built sedan on the market, posting 0-60 times as low as 3.9 seconds. Add in its handling, ultra-quiet motor, and the fact that it requires no fuel, and Loh said it was an easy pick for the honor.

Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk was typically unrestrained at the news, predicting people will look back on it as "a point at which the gears of history moved." He said.

"I hope other car companies will in fact copy us and pursue their own electric car programs with greater vigor as a result of this award."

Tesla's own next moves involve developing a more affordable model than the luxurious Model S, which starts at a hefty $57,400 for the base model before a $7,500 federal tax credit.

Congratulations to Elon Musk and the entire Tesla Motors team for creating a truly game-changing all-electric automobile that is not only beautiful, fast, and incorporates the best technology innovations on the market today, but an all-electric vehicle that delivers on all counts.

Courtesy of an article dated November 26, 2012 appearing in TechnologyTell

HOW LIT MOTORS HOPES TO REVOLUTIONIZE CITY COMMUTTING WITH THE WORLD'S FIRST GYROSCOPICALLY-STABILIZED, ALL-ELECTRIC MOTORCYCLE

 

A San Francisco startup has created the C-1, the world's first gyroscopically-stablized "rolling smartphone".  The C-1 comes the efficiency and freedom of a motorcycle with the safety and convenience of a car.  

SAN FRANCISCO — Zipping around on a motorcycle can be fun, but being in a downpour or an accident on one is not. Driving a car is safer and more comfortable, but traffic and parking can be annoying.

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What if you got rid of the bad parts of both?

You might end up with something like the C-1, an electric motorcycle that looks as if it came out of the movie “Tron.” For protection, the bike is encased in a metal shell, and it is controlled like a car, with a steering wheel and foot pedals. Two big gyroscopes under the floor are designed to keep it from tipping over, even when a car hits it from the side. The C-1’s top speed is 120 miles an hour, and it can travel 200 miles on a full charge.

 

A small start-up called Lit Motors is developing the C-1 in a three-story warehouse here. Its 33-year-old chief executive, Daniel Kim, was tinkering with a biodiesel sport utility vehicle eight years ago when a 500-pound chassis nearly crushed him. The experience got him thinking about cutting out the bulk.

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Mr. Kim said in an interview.

“Most people drive alone.  Why not cut the car in half? I was really into bicycles at that time and I thought, Why can’t we have the efficiency of a bicycle and motorcycle but all the amenities of a car?”

Fully electric vehicles have long been a dream among environmentalists and technologists, but companies have found it hard to deliver affordable and practical vehicles to the mass market. One of the biggest names in this field is Tesla Motors, which makes expensive sports cars and has had trouble increasing manufacturing.

But Lit Motors, which has just 10 people on staff, thinks it can bring the benefits of an electric vehicle even to those who aren’t rich. Mr. Kim says his motorcycle will be money-saving, safe to drive and simple to build.

Click Images To Enlarge

The main culprit in the high price of electric vehicles is the battery, said Dan Sperling, a professor of civil engineering and environmental science and policy at the University of California, Davis and director of its Institute of Transportation Studies. Unlike computer chips and digital storage, which have improved rapidly while dropping in price, battery technology has made slow progress, he said, so vehicle batteries are still bulky and pricey.

The other challenge, Dr. Sperling said, is that most people are not ready to embrace electric vehicles yet. Consumers could be nervous about the reliability and maintenance of such an expensive purchase — buggy software, for example, could lead to more serious consequences than it would on something like a smartphone. That’s why many auto companies have stuck to making hybrid vehicles, which use both gas and electricity and are more affordable, easier to produce and more familiar to drivers.

See-through image of the C-1 showing where the electronics and battery are stored (Click Image To Enlarge)

Dr. Sperling said.

“It’s not like when you buy an iPhone and you throw it out or don’t use it as much when it gets old. Unlike an iPhone or Windows system, it can’t crash — it has to perform with high reliability all the time.”

Mr. Kim, who dropped out of Reed College and the University of California, Berkeley and later studied industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design, has plans to overcome those obstacles. The motorcycle is lighter than a car so its batteries can be smaller and cheaper. And to improve reliability, the system is equipped with more components than it actually needs, Mr. Kim said.

The C-1’s secret weapons are the gyroscopes that allow it to balance itself, similar to the approach used in the Segway scooter. In a video, the company shows the bike remaining upright as a car yanks it from the side. Only one gyroscope is needed to maintain balance, but there are always two running; each gyroscope has redundant computer chips, controllers and sensors, so if any one of those fails, there are extras to back it up.

Click Image To Enlarge

The bike is made up of 2,200 parts, or one-tenth the number in the average car, which should make it easier to mass-produce, Mr. Kim said. He plans to start manufacturing the motorcycle in the United States.

There are two main target markets for the vehicle, said Ryan James, chief marketing officer for Lit Motors:

• Motorcyclists between 45 and 60 years old who are concerned about safety but don’t want to give up their two-wheeler.
• Younger commuters who live in urban or suburban areas where driving a car can be a bother or feel wasteful.

So far it has raised just $720,000 from early investors and another $80,000 from family and friends.  Still, Mr. Kim’s start-up, which is on a hiring spree, faces some tough hurdles.   

• It will have to get people to buy a vehicle they haven’t had a chance to drive or even see in real life. 
• Future customers will need to spend some serious money on one. Each motorcycle will cost $24,000 for the first production run of 1,000 in 2014, Mr. Kim said, and he hopes to bring the price down to $14,000 by around 2016, putting it in the range of a nice Ducati motorcycle or an entry-level car like a Honda Fit.

The company is already taking early orders and down payments on its Web site. About 250 people have signed up.

Mr. Kim said the company plans to team up with car dealerships in California, San Francisco and Los Angeles, in addition to selling the bikes online. And next summer, Mr. James will be driving an early version of the electric motorcycle to college campuses and conventions to show it to people and let them test-drive it. The company is also working on smartphone apps so C-1 owners can be part of their own social network.

Mr. Kim has his doubters. Kevin See, an analyst with Lux Research, which studies electric vehicles and alternative energy, said the motorcycle might appeal only to a small niche, and the initial price tag would be much higher than most people were willing to pay for a two-wheel vehicle. There are also plenty of more affordable vehicles on the market that perform well and already have a trusted brand.

He said.

“It’s very tough to roll out a vehicle of any kind with such a significant price premium versus an incumbent.”

Mr. See said the C-1 reminded him of Aptera Motors, a start-up that tried to sell a futuristic car but went out of business in December. (Steve Fambro, a founder of Aptera, is listed as one of Lit’s technical advisers.)

Dr. Sperling of the University of California said the biggest challenge for Mr. Kim would be finding buyers for the vehicle and then finding the means to deliver it.

Dr. Sperling said.

“He’s got some clever ideas, and it really comes down to questions that all these companies face, and that is can they find a market for the product, and can they actually do the manufacturing in an efficient and effective way?” 

Still, he said he was optimistic about the company’s chances.

He said.  

“There are people who want to do something to save the world, make a contribution to it, do something both in terms of energy and climate.  If it’s cool and good for the world, you’ve got a winner.”

COMMENTARY:

The Specs

There are supposed to be a number of different versions of the C-1, aimed at different markets. Differences include the battery pack (8-10 kWh for developed countries and 4-6 kWh for others) and the range (somewhere between 150 and 220 miles for the bigger-batteried bike). Both models will have hub motors in the wheels and reach a top speed of 120 mph (yes, you can break all the speed limit laws).

Flywheels below the vehicle floor, as previously mentioned, will help stabilize the vehicle and generage 1300 ft/lbs of torque. Kim told Gizmag that the C-1 will not be unstable when going really fast around corners (a problem with some previous attempts at gyroscopically stabilizing bikes).

The bike will also stay connected to the internet, in order to monitor traffic, construction, and weather. I have to wonder if, like the Audi A2 concept, it will also automatically connect to social media like Facebook. I can’t see that as being a positive. Traffic updates, on the other hand, are pretty awesome.

The first run of vehicles is expected to be about $24,000 USD, and the bike is supposed to go on sale late next year if all goes according to plan. Once the vehicles are in full production, the price should drop to $16,000 USD.

I love the C-1, but the price tag of $24,000 is a deal-killer for potential buyers.  Even at $16,000, when the C-1 goes into full production, the price is still too high.

Courtesy of an article dated October 10 2012 appearing in The New York Times and an article dated March 8, 2012 appearing in TheArrowsOfTruth.com

TEXTING AND DRIVING STATISTICS, WHY ITS DANGEROUS, STATE LAWS, AND TIPS TO STOP TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

Texting and driving has become commonplace among teenagers after more than half of high school seniors admitted to sending messages behind the wheel. 

A national survey, carried out anonymously, found that 58 per cent of seniors said they had texted or emailed while driving in the month of May 2012. 

Some 43 per cent of high school juniors in the U.S. also acknowledged that they had the dangerous habit, according to the study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today.

Aaron Deveau, 18, was sentenced to a year in prison yesterday after he killed a father of three while texting and driving last year in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  (Click Image To Enlarge)

CarInsurance.org prepared the following texting and driving stastics, and the numbers are just appalling.

COMMENTARY:    Texting while driving is a serious crime.  How serious, you ask?   Aaron Deveau, an 18-year old teen, was convicted of motor vehicle homicide by texting – the first driver in Massachusetts to face such charges, the Boston Globe reported.  Prosecutors said Deveau, who pleaded not guilty, was texting on Feb. 20, 2011, when his vehicle swerved across the center line of a Haverhill, Mass., street and crashed head on into Daniel Bowley’s truck, killing the 55-year-old New Hampshire father of three.   On June 6, 2012, Deveau was sentenced to a year in prison and loss of his license for 15 years for causing a fatal crash by texting while driving.  This is the kid being carted off to prison.

Aaron Defeau, the 18-yr old Massachusetts teen shortly after sentencing to one year in prison for texting while driving (Click Image To Enlarge)

Bowley’s sister, Donna Burleigh, said her brother suffered severe head trauma and lingered in a Boston hospital for 18 days before dying.

Before imposing the maximum sentence on Deveau, District Court Judge Stephen Abany said he was sending a message of deterrence to Massachusetts drivers.

Abany said, according to the Globe report.

"Deterrence really seems to come to play in this case.  People really want to be safe on the highways. People need to keep their eyes on the road, keep their eyes on the road.’’

Courtesy of an infographic appearing in CarInsurance.org

TESLA MOTORS HITS THE ROAD: DELIVERS THE FIRST MODEL S ALL-ELECTRIC SEDANS

Just over three years ago Tesla Motors unveiled its vision for the future of transportation:  the Model S all-electric sports sedan.  On June 22, 2012, Tesla Motors finally began delivering the first Model S to its customers.   Checkout the Tesla Motors delivery event video:

 

Over a period of three years Tesla Motors developed the Model S sedan from the ground up with persistence and passion.   In my personal opinion, the Model S sedan is the classiest, best designed and engineered all-electric vehicle for mass production.   Yes, its pricey, but in terms of design and engineering it stands head and shoulders above anything coming out of Asia or Detroit.  Nothing even comes close in terms of overall design and performance.  

If you haven't see the Model S all-electric sedan, click HERE or checkout all of my blog posts for Tesla Motors by clicking HERE.

Courtesy of a press release dated June 22, 2012 appearing in Tesla Motors website